Club donates more than 80 boxes of kit to sporting charity

Thursday, June 7th 2018

More than 80 boxes of kit have been donated to sporting charity, SOS Kit Aid following the club rebrand to Bristol Bears this summer.

Following a change of kit and club crest, Bristol Bears has donated the kit to the World Rugby-backed organization, whose mission is to recycle sports kit for the benefit of young people in the UK and overseas, to give them a sporting chance.

SOS Kit Aid makes a positive and tangible impact on children’s lives by giving them the chance to participate in sporting activities; promote social inclusion; and protect the environment. Their vision is to give all children access to sport, and in doing so, reduce the volume of sports kit in landfill sites.

“We’re delighted to support SOS Kit Aid with the donation of old kit,” said chief operating officer, Mark Tainton.

“We are unable to use the leftover kit following the rebrand, so we’re pleased to ensure it goes to a good cause.”

Richard Westaway, Regional Director of SOS Kit Aid, added: “SOS Kit Aid are delighted to partner with Bristol Bears Rugby and will put the massive donation of two large van-fulls of kit to great use, helping underprivileged kids. A huge thanks to everyone at Bristol Bears for making this happen.”

SOS Kit Aid was founded by rugby dad, John Broadfoot, during a visit to Romania. The sight of a smiling eight-year-old boy running with the ball under one arm whilst he used the other to hold up his shorts made him want to do something about it.

With the support of the World Rugby, kit has been donated by schools, clubs and kit manufacturers across the UK, with an estimated value of over £5million delivered to date. Over 200,000 youngsters in 27 developing countries in Eastern Europe, Africa, South America and the South Seas have received quality used and new kit, and there are a further 59 countries on the waiting list.

The programme has saved over 1000 tonnes of environmentally damaging CO2 emissions to date.